Hockey India League proposes franchise for Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Hockey India League (HIL), a professional league for field hockey competition in the country, has displayed interest in owning an Odisha-based franchise for their second edition to be held in January next year.A

Bhubaneswar: The Hockey India League (HIL), a professional league for field hockey competition in the country, has displayed interest in owning an Odisha-based franchise for their second edition to be held in January next year.

A team of HIL officers, led by its general secretary Narendra Batra, met senior Odisha government officials here and made a presentation highlighting significance of holding a franchise in the league.

Odisha has a rich history of hockey and it has produced the international players like Ignes Tirkey, Dillip Tirkey, Lazrus Barla, Michel Kindo and 15 other known players in recent years, a presentation made by the HIL team apprised the officials.

They said the franchise in the league will promote sports at the grass-root level.

“It would increase community visibility and also be helpful for propagation of various potentialities of Odisha both at national and international levels. The league would focus on talent scouting in sports particularly hockey,” they added.

The cost involvement in the franchise for 2014-15 was estimated around Rs 6 crore, which would also generate assured revenue of more than Rs 3 crore, said Batra.

Besides, the league would provide a broad platform for propagation of art, culture, industrial, tourism and other opportunities at national and international levels, he said.

The proposal for possibility of holding the franchise through SPV in partnership among state owned IDCO (industrial infrastructure development corporation), OMC (Odisha Mining Corporation) and other PSUs was discussed in the meeting presided over by chief secretary J K Mohapatra.